Men's Post-Shave Balm as a Primer? Really?

If Nikkie Tutorials tells me to do something, I'm probably going to do it. After watching her time and time again apply Nivea Men's Post-Shave Balm to her face as a primer, I just had to try it out for myself. What Nikkie says goes.

This is my confused face (to convey my apprehension). Before you ask: yes, my hair is now short and yes, I too am obsessed with infinity necklaces (£2 in H&M shh don't shout about it).

Nevertheless, with the price at just £3.50 I was more than happy to investigate whether or not this balm actually works or just makes me smell like a well-groomed man (ain't nothing wrong with that).

Here's how I got on with it and what I learnt along the way...

First up, I would only recommend this for combo/oily skin. If you're dry and need a lot of moisture before priming, this product will simply be too heavy and probably create unwanted texture to your makeup. Hate to be the bearer of bad news (if you're dry do you really need primer though? Life's tough questions...)

If you've passed that stage, let me tell you how this stuff works:

• You need a clean, dry face. If you can, skip the moisturiser.
• It absorbs pretty quickly but you do need to give it a good five minutes to ensure your skin is ready for makeup. Once it's absorbed, your skin will feel soft and smooth. Yes, your face will smell a bit manly, but after all your makeup is on you won't be left with any scent.
• Now, here's where it gets a bit tricky. These days I like to apply my foundation with my fingers (don't judge okay, fingers are your best tools! Someone once said...once...). Newsflash, that process is not available with this primer. If you rub product into it, it crumbles. Disaster. 
• What you do need is a stippling brush or beauty blender. I'm currently out of love with my blender but have found a Real Techniques stippling brush to work wonders.
  

Yeah, it's a tiny bit of a faff but seriously, your makeup will stay perfect all day. I have noticed a serious improvement in the way my makeup looks and lasts.

This is a great primer for oily skin simply because it's so good at keeping your makeup on your face! Your makeup stays latched onto the balm and doesn't let half as much oil through. I haven't even been setting my makeup. Absolute result.

Have you tried this out? Let me know your experiences. Yay for strange and affordable primers! xo

Current Favourite: Nip + Fab Dragon's Blood Cleansing Pads

Now before any Dragon's Rights Activists get on Nip + Fab's case, no dragons were harmed in the making of this product. Dragon's Blood is actually a substance obtained from certain plants, (Google it, it's kind of fascinating) and these cleansing pads combine it with hyaluronic and salicylic acid to hydrate and restore skin. Intrigued? As was I when my mum started boasting about them. To be honest, anything with the word dragon in the name and I'm there (I've got a serious Khaleesi ambition). One pot down and another trip to Superdrug and I'm well and truly hooked.

I use these after cleansing and before moisturising and have found them to be really effective in improving my skin's appearance. These are great at speeding up the healing process if you suffer from any kind of spots, plus they also leave your skin feeling plumper, tighter and super fresh.

For real, you only have to smell these things to tell they're going to work wonders. That slightly acidic but nevertheless pleasant scent screams 'I mean business'. You gotta get them to get it, to be honest.

You get 60 in a pot, which is essentially two month's worth. They usually retail for around £9.99, though they're often on offer in Superdrug. Either way I think they're incredible value for the price; if you want to step up your skincare, this range is a great place to start.

They might even turn you into a dragon-wielding princess. Report back to base if so ... xo

Naked Basics: Three Looks, One Palette

Naked Basics palette was one of my Christmas presents this year and I am extremely in love with it. It's a small palette, making it a great size for travel, but it still contains six great shades that are perfect for creating a day or night time look.

From left to right:
1. Neutral look. Using Foxy as a base and applying Naked 2 all over, you can create a great natural look for every day.
2. Brown Smokey. Building on the neutral look, by adding Faint to the outer V and under the lash line with a tiny touch of Crave to create some depth, you can achieve a great brown smokey eye.
3. Black Smokey. Super simple in concept but requires some patience (is it just me who hates doing black smokey eyes but loves the end result?) Pack Crave all over the line and smoke out under the lashline. Even though these shadows are super blendable and smooth, they do have fallout so take care.

I adore this palette. Who knew you could create statement looks with only six neutral shadows? Til next time... xo

Current Favourite: Rimmel Matte Lipstick

Current Favourite is back! Today it's taking the form of Rimmel's Kate Moss Matte lipstick in Wine (Shade 107). My boyfriend actually bought me this lipstick and I'm super impressed with him because it's essentially my idea of perfection.

The colour payoff from this lipstick is incredible. And what a gorgeous colour! This "wine-stained lip but hella better" kind of shade is big at the moment and I can see why. It suits a wide range of skin tones and whilst it makes me look very pale and vampy, I'm totally embracing it.

The formula itself is matte but not totally matte. As you can see, it's got a bit of shine to it and it certainly doesn't dry to the point that it won't smudge. Nevertheless, it's got a good wear time and definitely doesn't crumble as it fades.

One factor some might not be so keen on is the fact that this lipstick is scented. Very scented. It smells like a tropical fruit. Personally, I love it, but just a heads up.

Rimmel make some of the best lipsticks at the drugstore in my opinion, and I'm so glad this one found its way to me!  

What are your favourite drugstore lipsticks? xo

Review: Maybelline Matte Colour Tattoos

I'm back! I've handed in my stupid 15,000-word accumulation of essays so I can finally get back to being a normal person who has fun and doesn't hate life (it's been a killer fortnight, can you tell?). What's my idea of fun you say? Well, it might just be playing with makeup, not gonna lie...

I've been so excited to play with these three Colour Tattoos by Maybelline. I tried some of these before and loved them, but I never even knew the range had intricacies (there are ranges within the range, how about that). Here we have (from left to right in all pictures):

• Creamy Beige - a Creamy Matte Tattoo. A gorgeous beige with a gold undertone.
• Permanent Taupe - a Creamy Matte Tattoo. A great grey-toned brown.
• Vintage Plum - a Leather Effect Tattoo. A more subtle finish but a lovely purple shade.
  
  

Thoughts:

• I love the formula of the Colour Tattoos, particularly the original Creamy Mattes. They have a blendable consistency - making them easy to apply - but they set to a matte. Vintage Plum (far right) is Leather Effect which I found to be slightly more difficult to blend. I definitely prefer the creamier formula as you can achieve a more opaque look. 
• However, they all make great, simple eye looks and can also be built upon to achieve something more dramatic. As you can see from the photos, I don't have a defined crease so I really need a bit of shadow in my crease to make the look that bit more polished. I do however adore Creamy Beige (far left) on its own, as it's so natural. It doesn;t take much fussing over so it's a really quick way to step your makeup up a notch.
• The great thing about these is that they don't crease. The vibrancy lasts all day and the formula seriously doesn't budge. They're a great choice for people with oily lids, or if you fancy applying shadows on top they act as a tinted eye primer.

I'm thoroughly impressed with this formula and can't wait to incorporate these into my makeup. Have you tried any of these Colour Tattoos? Let me know! (what other shades would you recommend?)


Thanks for your patience whilst I took a blogging break. I have lots of new products to try out, so stay tuned xo